Flextime: How flexible are you?

Why flextime can benefit employees and employers

When Corbin Streett was job hunting, one of her main goals was to work for a company that offered a flexible schedule. She found it at a woman-owned management consulting company in Ballston Lake.

“The flextime arrangement offered by the Saile Group was definitely an important part of why I accepted their job offer over others,” says Streett, a creative strategist with the firm. “With a growing family, it allows me to maximize my time and support of them while at the same time being able to be a strong contributor at the office.”

It’s difficult to find jobs that offer flextime these days. Although new technology has made it easier than ever for employees to work remotely, workplace culture has been slower to change. In June, the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2011 Employee Benefits survey reported that although the standard 40-hour workweek has become a thing of the past, improved technology has not led to an increase in flexibility.

In fact, the percentage of employers offering flextime dropped from 58 to 53 percent from 2007 to 2011 and ad hoc telecommuting dropped from 48 to 42 percent. The closest measure to an unlimited vacation and leave policy, the society found, was in “results-only work environments,” which basically means that employees can work when and where they want as long as they get the job done. Only 2 percent of the companies surveyed had such policies in place as of 2011, although that did represent an increase over previous years and many human resource experts consider such policies to be the wave of the future.

Flextime Defined:

The definition of flextime is fairly straightforward: It encompasses any work day that departs from the standard business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. How companies implement flextime, however, is almost as varied as the products they sell. Peak-hour flextime, for instance, offers a flexible schedule as long as the busiest times of day are covered, while adjusted lunch period flexibility allows workers to take long lunches to take care of personal business. Compressed workweek flextime gives employees the option to work 10 or 12 hours a day in exchange for a long weekend, and then there are the various work-from-home arrangements.

Some companies want employees with flex hours to stick to a consistent schedule. Others adopt more of an ad hoc policy — as long as employees work 40 hours a week and do their jobs, their schedules can be as flexible as employers allow on an as-needed basis. Streett, for instance, says she’s able to flex her hours to go to family medical appointments or to run errands whenever she needs to, as long as she makes up the missed time either at the office or at home.

Regardless of the arrangement, however, it’s important to note that flextime is considered a privilege and not a right, and can be taken away at an employer’s discretion if an employee abuses it. Employees who most often enjoy this benefit typically have a proven track record of performing well with little supervision.

“I’ve seen those formal policies work well and ad hoc work well and I think the common denominator — from entry level to executives — is the employee is a strong contributor,” says Albany human resources professional Debra Best. “When you’re consistent in rewarding the strong performers with that, you’re on the side of the angels.”

Who Benefits?

Nell Burrows, executive director of Upper Union Street BID, loves her job, but says she wouldn’t be doing it if she didn’t have flextime. “I took my current job because of the flexibility,” says Burrows, who is semi-retired. “I think it’s the most valuable perk available — especially for women.”

According to Laura Sherbin, director of research at the New York-based think tank, Center for Work-Life Policy, working mothers have been one of the driving forces behind companies adopting flexible work schedules. “Working mothers need it for a variety of reasons,” says Sherbin, noting that a whopping 69 percent of women who quit their jobs say they would never have left if they had a more flexible schedule. However, she adds, “when it’s all about working mothers, it’s stigmatized.”

Indeed, when working mothers appear to be the only employees to benefit from a flextime policy, Sherbin says, it can foster feelings of favoritism and unfairness among the work force. “We’ve absolutely seen that in our research,” she says. “In one of our recent surveys, 49 percent of workers overall feel that colleagues with children are given more latitude.

That’s almost half feeling like it’s unfair and 44 percent of workers without children feel their personal commitments are perceived as less important than their colleagues with children. It’s something that needs to be managed better in their company.”

When Generation Y entered the workforce, however, Sherbin’s research showed that equal numbers of men and women were demanding flextime. Having grown up with computers and cell phones, Gen Yers are plugged in 24/7 and, though they’re happy to work until midnight to complete a project when needed, she says, they want the flexibility to come in later the next day if they do so. “They don’t understand the concept of ‘face time,’” Sherbin says.

Sherbin also has noticed a sea change among baby boomers. Although many people willingly worked 60 hours a week when they anticipated retiring, after their retirement investments plummeted with the economy, they realized they’d have to work longer than anticipated. The result? They, too, began looking for the flexibility to spend more time with family, on hobbies or travel as they had planned. “With mature professionals and today’s technology, flextime and flex place are a benefit to many organizations,” Burrows says. “I can work in my PJs, get the laundry done, and not lose a minute of productivity or violate the dress code. My employer actually gets extra time from me because I round down my hours so I’m sure I’m not cheating them.”

The Plus for Employers:

Some employers offer flexible schedules because they need staff around the clock, and when competition for talent has been fierce, it gave them a recruiting and retention advantage. Albany Medical Center has repeatedly been voted one of the best places to work, in part because of the flexibility it offers employees.

“We offer many different starting shifts. Folks come in at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 10 a.m. and into the night, too,” says Mary Ellen Plass, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Albany Medical Center. “We also offer different shift lengths, from four hours to eight hours, and 10- and 12-hour shifts. Our doors never close, so we have to craft creatively to cover 24/7. One of those benefits of being in health care is there are a lot of options.”

Yet even when the demands of the workplace lend themselves to more unusual work schedules, it’s not easy to change the mindset of people raised with the idea that work happens between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The most popular shifts at Albany Medical Center, Plass says, are still 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To make sure that every shift is covered, schedules are set at the team level and people with the most seniority get first dibs on shifts as a reward for longtime service.

Nursing isn’t the only profession that offers flexibility to ensure 24-hour coverage. Increasing globalization has led many fields to adopt a flextime policy so employees can work across different time zones. This is particularly true of the financial industry but, that being said, it’s possible to make flextime work in almost any field — even retail that has set business hours — if the workplace has a results-oriented philosophy.

“It’s a lot easier when you have a culture of performance,” says Andy Heck, one of the owners of Alpin Haus Ski Shop Inc., which in 2010 was voted one of the best places to work in Albany. Alpin Haus’ four store locations are open seven days a week and during the busy season Heck needs all hands on deck. During slow times, however, Heck’s flexible approach allows employees to cut back hours or participate in job sharing and saves him the expense of hiring and retraining new employees. In short, it’s a win-win.

Like many companies, Alpin Haus has no set flextime policy. Employees can leave early, start late, or take long breaks during the day for reasons that range from coaching Little League to training for marathons. “Our employees work hard,” Heck says. “The ones that are having to cut out early and work from home, I think they’re putting in as many, if not more, hours. They’re very conscientious.”

Indeed, a recent study on flextime published in the journal Human Relations bears that out. After surveying more than 2,000 employees from British and multinational corporations, researchers from Cranfield School of Management in the U.K. reported that employees with flexible hours worked more intensely, for longer hours, and with greater productivity than their counterparts who put in the required amount of time at the office.

People who were able to work from home or who had flexible schedules also reported greater job satisfaction, lower stress and higher loyalty to their company than those who didn’t. That’s a sentiment echoed by Streett.

“Working for a company that offers flextime is such a different experience from working for a company where the hours are hard and fast with little to no compromise,” says Streett. “I feel a deeper connection with my work, feel much more appreciated and trusted, and it’s a strong internal motivator to work hard and give back to the company. It creates an environment of mutual respect, which is a big part of what makes me excited to wake up and go to work every day.”

By the Numbers:

The American Staffing Association reports that 66 percent of temporary employees say flexible work time is important to them; 64 percent say their work gives them the scheduling flexibility and time for family that they want.

According to the Center for Work-Life Policy, 69 percent of women who take “off ramps” away from careers would never have left their jobs had they had some form of flexible working arrangement.

Tips to Make Flextime Work:

— Create a Culture: Ideally, flextime should be part of the corporate culture. To avoid feelings of inequity, a flexible schedule should be available to everyone for any reason, not just to one person who has obvious personal demands on her time. “Having that overarching policy that applies to everyone is important,” says Laura Sherbin of the Center for Life-Work Policy. “It needs to trickle down all the way through your company.”

— Teamwork is Critical. An ad hoc policy is probably best managed on a team level. Few companies have human resource policies that specify you can come in late because you’re waiting for the cable guy. Let the team leader determine who can flex her hours based on individual performance and on what needs to be accomplished over a particular time frame.

— Be Results-Oriented: Be clear that flextime is not an entitlement but do make it a benefit that is available to all employees who have proven that they can get the job done from home or by working a nontraditional schedule. “It’s moving to a results-only work environment,” Sherbin says. “It’s what the company should care about and it’s what impacts your bottom line.”

— Seeing is Believing: Transparency is important when someone is working from home. People should be as available as they would be in the office via e-mail, phone, or Skype for video conferencing. Colleagues and supervisors need to know that if people aren’t physically present at work, they’re still on the job and producing as expected.

— Flexibility is Key: Flextime doesn’t just mean you come in an hour earlier or later than most people might and leave after eight hours. The most successful policies are truly flexible, allowing employees to balance their work and their life. As long as the job gets done within the required time period, flexibility works for everyone.

The percentage of employers offering flextime dropped from 58 to 53 percent from 2007 to 2011, and ad hoc telecommuting dropped from 48 to 42 percent.
— SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT